Rite Foods Limited, a leading name in Nigeria’s food and beverage industry, has teamed up with Lagos-based Popbeach Club to launch the 2024 edition of the “RiteOnTheBeach” Festival for coastal sustainability. This year’s event opened with an engaging symposium for students in STEM and Law fields, held on November 11 in Lagos. The symposium emphasized the importance of ecological preservation and aimed to equip students with insights on sustainable practices to address the plastic pollution crisis impacting Nigeria’s coastline.
Now in its fourth year, the RiteOnTheBeach Festival has evolved into a broad initiative focused not only on cleaning up plastic waste but also on fostering a deeper connection between community development and environmental sustainability. The program, which is part of the broader “RiteOnTheBeach” Residency, collects and processes plastic waste while promoting educational initiatives and job creation within Lagos’ shoreline communities. The residency further seeks to provide a realistic valuation of the economic and ecological importance of the Lagos Western Peninsula and its surrounding mangrove ecosystems.
Speaking at the event, Ekuma Eze, Head of Corporate Affairs & Sustainability at Rite Foods (represented by Corporate Affairs Manager Dennis Aideloje), explained the initiative’s goal of instilling a sense of responsibility among participants regarding environmental care. Eze highlighted that by reducing plastic pollution—particularly PET bottles littering beaches and waterways—the program hopes to protect vital coastal ecosystems. He also noted the critical role of recycling in preserving carbon-absorbing habitats and supporting biodiversity.
Founder of Popbeach Club, Akin Disu, introduced a new element of the project: the on-site processing of plastics into reusable pellets, with transparency ensured through blockchain technology. This integration of tech-driven solutions aligns with the festival’s broader mission of ecological preservation and sustainable development for the surrounding communities. Disu explained that alongside eco-tourism, carbon accountability is a crucial part of RiteOnTheBeach’s mission, reflecting Lagos State’s recent push toward carbon neutrality.
RiteOnTheBeach has made substantial progress over the past three years. The project has removed around 30 tons of plastic waste from coastal areas and provided jobs, scholarships, and vocational training for over 1,000 youths in these communities. Through efforts like these, the festival is not only cleaning up local environments but also investing in the education and economic empowerment of Nigeria’s next generation, creating a model for sustainable coastal development that others can emulate.
